Steam Loco Spoked Wheel Making

[delamaize]

Ow....my brain.....

Bravo Max! Impressive work!

[Chris333]

That is just insane.  I'd have a very hard time just getting 6 wheel shaped objects to all be the same diameter.

[Scottl]

Amazing.  I just can't get over how precisely you are working with those little bits of brass.

[Chris333]

Did you use the same temp solder for the whole thing?

[PiperguyUMD]

WOW!  JUST WOW!

[peteski]

Not bad for the first attempt.






















Who am I kidding - this is pretty friggin' awesome work Max! 

[mmagliaro]

Thank you to everyone!

Peteski...
ya made me laugh... SO  HARD!     Thanks!

Believe me, guys, what you are seeing is definitely not my "first attempt".  My workbench and trash can are littered
with failed missteps before I got the method down to where I could make that wheel.

Chris, I am using some 2% silver bearing solder from Radio Shack, nothing fancy.   And I used it on every joint.
With that liquid flux, I find I can flux the joint, get a tiny drop of solder on the point of that iron, and then just point it into the joint and it flows in like water and makes a really hard joint.  And it is so fast that nothing else comes apart.
Amazing what a difference that flux makes.

Curiously, my daughter just started experimented with making stained-glass art, and that old bottle of liquid flux
was in her stash of supplies, so I tried it.  Amazing stuff.  I love the slogan on the top of the bottle.  It says, "It can be done"   Ha!

Thank you for indulging this long, and sometimes tiresome project.   I am really pushing my skill set right to the edge
of what I can do.  That wheel may not be perfect, but I'll say this.  It sure is the best I can do.

[peteski]

I'm glad that I made you laugh Max! 

While I'm still in awe, One thing that bugs me slightly is the counterweight.  It just looks so flat. As you mentioned, the real ones actually protrude from the from the front of the spokes.  I know that in N scale the counterweight cant protrude very far but if it is possible maybe you could make it from 0.010" or 0.015" brass sheet and slightly round the edges?  That way it would look more 3-dimensional.  What do you think?

[mmagliaro]

I'm glad that I made you laugh Max! 

While I'm still in awe, One thing that bugs me slightly is the counterweight.  It just looks so flat. As you mentioned, the real ones actually protrude from the from the front of the spokes.  I know that in N scale the counterweight cant protrude very far but if it is possible maybe you could make it from 0.010" or 0.015" brass sheet and slightly round the edges?  That way it would look more 3-dimensional.  What do you think?

I thought about this.   .005 would be about  3/4" in real life.  I know some engines have big, thick counterweights that really stick out.   But many don't.  I don't have a profile drawing of this driver, so I don't know how thick it's supposed to be,
but 3/4" seemed right to me.   I think we are used to seeing them stick out on our models, but I'm not sure that's
really correct. 
(At this point, there's no way that thing is coming off that wheel, so at best, I would have to layer another .005
on top of it... Not impossible, but a bit of a pain.)

Anybody got some profile drawings of real drivers?

[peteski]

No profile drawing but this photo is a good example of what I'm talking about.  I think that this might be one of those things where slight exaggerating of the dimensions might not be a bad thing in the N scale model.

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[mmagliaro]

Yup, I know what you mean, Peteski.
I'm still not sure I want that thing sticking out on my wheel, but I will ponder it.

And something's up with the forum.  It's now not showing the last few photos of my post.
I'll check tomorrow.  If they are still not showing up, I'll break it up and repost them in a separate message.

[Lemosteam]

Max. sigh.  unbelievable. 

I agree with peteski on the counterweights and one thing I noticed is the sharp corners at the apex of your plate are rounded on most drivers.  I also think the cavities behind the brass plate between the spokes will make the wheel look hollow.  That counterweight in peteski's pic is cast all the way back to the inside of the wheel in 1:1-  could you fill it with epoxy from the back and shape it with files after it hardens?

It is very hard to be critical of something so amazing.  Sorry for that!

[Doug G.]

Beautiful work Max and I have a can of Johnson's paste flux (safe for electronics) with the same slogan on the top of the can. "IT CAN BE DONE" I have had it for many years and don't remember where I got it although I may have bought it from the company for which I used to work.

Made in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Doug

[mmagliaro]

Thank you, for all of your kind words, guys.  And no, do not worry about nit picking at it.
In a way, that's a compliment in itself.  If it were a piece of cr*p, you might not bother with getting
me to fix small aspects of it.   

John, I also did think about the counterweight being solid behind its face.  I could still fill in that edge from behind with JB,
and I might.  I'm not sure I could get it nice and crisp along that edge, however, and remember, when this
thing is painted, I doubt you will be able to see back there.  It might look worse to have that thick
relief, and have it not be straight.

As for the thickness of the counterweight plate itself, here's what I've decided.

I should be able to layer another .005 on top of this one and make the edge work.  Even a light skim of
JB weld along that edge, filed smooth, will disguise the fact that it's two pieces.

And then I'll use my other .005's as patterns to scribe and cut thicker ones out of .010"

I agree, I think it would look better with just a touch more thickness.   

and while I'm at it... while the #1 driver's counterweight is quite straight across the chord, the #2 and #3
get very close to the hub, and that chord edge has an ever-so-slight arc to it, so I can sand that in as well,
since I'm making new ones.

[Spades]

Max

Amazing work.  You've gone this far make it a live steamer.